Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

The Cruel Reality

This night was extremely cold, or so he thought. His hands are wrapping his own body, trying to protect it from the cold that pierced through him. His crimson eyes continue to gazes on the crowded streets below him, watching every cars passing. Emptiness emblazon his eyes, long enough to draw the portrait of the living corpse. He was barely moving, or even talking. The desperation continued to drive his insanity, as if he would throw his own body into the air.

Never once he thought that the reality and facts could do such a cruel thing to him, strips him from his achievements, pride, dreams and even his own life.

Dreams…he chuckled in bemusement. Is he even had once through his past life until now?

Everything he did was all of his father’s requests and rules,..all of it was his father’s volitions not his.

Such a shameful,..living in the fake pages of existence,..controlled by any regulations from his father like an obedient absolute puppet which wouldn’t be torn apart by anything.

Feelings and desires doesn’t matter, it would only sabotage his mind and intercepts every works and accomplishments, or that’s what he always thought. Sometimes, he could feel his burning desire asked why…

Echoed in his blank mind the words,..

“Only people who are successful in all areas that deserve to be called as the part of Akashi’s family”

Those utterances were inescapable, couldn’t be claimed nor violated. Absolute penalty would be imposed on those who don’t comply… That statement is amusing, really, if anyone noticed..…If it’s fate and reality, could it be penalized ? Could every people including him, ..prevent this from happen ?

His mind drifted into his own world of consciousness, excavated his recollection of an event that he did never expect to happen in his life, crushing every inch of the things he previously had with despair, turning his life upside down to the earth…

It’s all began two months ago, during his first time as an 1st year high school student in Rakuzan. The weather was very pleasant at that time, offering the graceful warmth in air. Strands of the flowers started to bloom, revealing the beauty that buried deep down in its center. Every students were already talking and laughing with each other on the first day. He, on the other hand, was already being assigned as the captain of Rakuzan’s basketball team. He went to the gym that day to assisting along with his coach to assign the division of the string.

Two days later, he began his duties as a captain and immediately started to train his teammate’s potential and skills. The first practice went enough facile without any nuisance, and him, along with the other members well began quite enough to knew each other attitudes. Though some of them were already discover with one another when in Junior High School. After the practice, he felt really very tired, but nonetheless he didn’t think too much of it. It’s very reasonable and normal after all.

Shortly afterwards, around five days later, he was appointed as the President of Rakuzan’s Students Council. No one complain about it, as they assumed that position has been given to the right person. Trusts and expectations of him increased drastically. His father nonetheless still as usual. He only asked what is necessary for him. That position made his duties and tasks increases, and he barely getting any rests or sleeps. Every night he kept doing his work, as a student, the captain of basketball team, and President Council. He never complained, because that’s his duties and he had to finish it.

That time, he started to felt the fatigue comes again continuously, and it’s getting worse as every day passed. He could felt it from the previous practices he attended. One of his teammates would shot him a glance, and asking if he was okay, which he replied fine. Dizziness strikes his head like a wave more often, and it’s increased rapidly. Sometimes he could feel his eyes saw everything became blurred and double. He rarely could sleep at nights. It’s hard for him to slip into his own consciousness. Even when he did, he would wake up earlier than usual or in the midnight.

This drives him to the point that he started to felt paranoid over something so quickly. Everything around him seems to become odd. He tried to figure it out why, only to meet uncertain answers. All those tasks and obligations only became a heavy burden. They kept come to him endlessly. He wanted to scream so badly, escaping himself from this pressure.

Why no one noticed it ?

At that time, a very sharp frustration stuck within his mind and he couldn’t get out from it. He felt very miserably and only wanted to rest, but the reality wouldn’t allow it. Everyone were having high expectations for him, and he couldn’t resist it. Fear of been exiled and ostracized provoke his insanity. And over time, that feelings were progressing bigger until that day, he couldn’t hold it anymore. He snapped out of it during his practice by raging and punishing his teammates to vent his depression.

After that event happened, anxiety enveloped him very tightly. He tried to distance himself from his teammates, with laboring his best to avoid them. During the practice, he became less talkative than before despite his team tried to comfort him, saying that incident did nothing and asking him why he recently became strange. He refused to answered and only head back home, but deep down in his mind he knew that they were right. There is something reside within his body, and it’s terrifying him.

He kept telling his mind that everything is fine, that everything is still in the same place and being normal. That was a lie though, a mere lie that he told to himself in order to establish himself in the illusion, to comfort himself. He woke up in nightmare that night, reflection of her mother flashed in his dreams. He didn’t remember that fully, and came back tried to sleep again, despite only to meet ultimate failure in that.

The next day, he decided not to go to school for a while, trying to steady himself. His psychical and mentally problem will soon carried away, and he will be back to normal again, that’s what he thought that time. But it turned out to be didn’t work, as the pessimist mind always dominating the optimist one. His anxiety and depression never vanished, instead it got worse. His headache stabbed him merciless, and his double vision bothered him more.

Those signs was so disturbing that his father’s private assistant, Tanaka-san, aware of his anomaly and immediately offering advice to go to the doctor which he refused flatly. But the incident next day made him unable to sustain this rarity longer that he chose to accept Tanaka’s suggestion.

He woke up from his sleep in that morning, when the double vision quickly approached him as he opened his eyes. Everything felt awful as the headache came mercilessly. He tried to get away from it and stand up, only to feel his legs couldn’t hold his own weight.

Balance evanish of his body as quick as his face touch the hard tiled floor.

~~~

Great concern gnawing his mind during his trip to the hospital, and he felt like want to vomit due to his paranoid. Arrived in the hospital, he immediately doing check up and waited for around fifteen minutes before his name was called in. In front of him, sat a middle-age doctor with green hair and wearing glasses, who is non-other than his past teammate’s father, Midorima Miyatani, a neurologist specialist doctor. He explained all of his lately problem, how his double vision and dizziness disturbing his activities, his insomnia and paranoid over something small. His last explanation was the strange thing that happened to him in that morning.

Midorima Miyatani listened it detail and attentive, and he quickly carried out the tests and examinations. A motor system examination , lumbar puncture to draw out a sample of cerebrospinal fluid , tonsil biopsy, a prototype blood test, CT scan of the brain , MRI brain scan to produce the detailed image of brain, and an EEG to records brain activity. Clock ticking very quickly as the hours passed. His entire body trembling very tightly, cause of the fear of why he was having all these tests done to him.

Midorima’s father only said that he will soon call him if the results are already come out, and told him to bring his father or someone who responsible of him to come along. He came back to his home with the negative thoughts constantly nagging on his head, and its haunt him for the rest of the days. The next five days, he came back to school and working his usual activities. His balance and co-ordination got deteriorating little by little that time. His illusions continue to rejects every worst possibility that ready to break him like a glass. His mind never prepared for the next thing that he would hear from the results that out one week later. With his inner thought continue to rejected the worse, every words that came out calmly shattered every illusions that he struggle to keeping it for weeks into several frail pieces.

“You currently suffered a fatal neurodegenerative disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob.”, told him, sympathy and guilt filled in his green eyes. 

His knuckles slowly turned white as he tightened his grip. He still remembering how every sentences that came out from his mouth stabbed him merciless. His eyes widen fearfully, all of the cells in his body became numb. The taste of frozen ran quickly on his blood, these sentence went in one ear and out of the other without all of it being processed by his nerves. Mind was pent tightly from every these circumferences of embitter.

He remembered Tanaka-san’s expression, as he was listening in the diagnosis. Disbelief and shock emanated from his expression.

His ears that time only caught some of those sentences. But he knew, with only those words, the declaration of his downfall will soon be assured, as his entire future slaughtered bit by a bit without getting left behind once. It repeated slowly in his head as to reminding him of his fate.

“As this disease progress, you will lose your physical co-ordination which can affect your speaking, walking, and balance. Along with the loss of the voluntary movements which make the difficulty to move your hands and legs. The last stage of it is the lost movement of entire body. Your vision will be deteriorating to the level of blindness. Eventually, loss of the speech also soon becoming a problem . Rapidly progressive dementia, alzheimer, seizures along with the memory loss and concentrating problem later include in the progress. Swallowing food will be difficult which increase the possibility of choking. This symptoms progressing very fast and the patients usually die within one year after the diagnosis. With the current medical technology, there is no effective cure for this disease.”

These cruel words that caught by his ears still remained in his memory until this night. His hands still shook greatly, whether it’s because of the cold air or the fear that crawl his body. He is too afraid to face the reality, to accepting it inside him. His sense of rejection undermining all of his rational mind, cutting it without the slightest remaining.

He didn’t want anyone, especially his father to know this disgraceful reality. What would he do if he knew this?

For him…he is nothing more than a tool to inherit all of Akashi’s family. Just it… With this disease consumed his body slowly, that absolute doll that once be proud will only shattered like a broken trash. And by now, he failed to meet all of the requirements to be a perfect heir, right ?

Perfection…

He laughed miserably in despair and sorrow. Tired of this façade that he wore until this day, he tired of all of it. He isn’t that strong as they always view him to be. He is just a broken and weak person who is need to be helped out from the darkness that consuming him. Why no one want to helped him ?

Look at him. Now he is just a useless person, that soon will be fading away from this earth without anything to left. He will only be a burden that better to thrown away as it’s no longer useful to everyone.

His hand then reached for his pocket. Three pieces of pills come out from it. His eyes stared at those pills that lay on his palm.

This will be the most effective and easiest way, they said. Only a couple of gulp, and all of his burden will be go away. He will soon be free from his miserable life. After all, he couldn’t keep it any longer anyway.

He looked at the pills for a few moments before his hands began inserting it into his mouth, leading his vision into a blurred image as his own unconsciousness welcomed him into the world of blackness.

Chapter Text

Chapter  2

“So, indeed what kind of person that Akashi is actually?”

A blue-haired boy doesn’t flinch, continues through his reflection of contemplation that dominates his sky blue eyes. He then turned his blank gazes at a person in opposite, it tells slightly bitterness before he opened his mouth.

“It’s actually quite complex to be understandable, Kagami-kun….. In a glance, Akashi-kun was what people called ‘perfection’. He exceed in all areas, achieved what most of all thought was impossible to reach. His extraordinary blast everything in his way without failed and his verity never once been questioned. Maybe he isn’t a human, or perhaps….he is. But there’s one thing I always held my credence about Akashi-kun….”his expression overcast within shine that illuminates his face.

“That there’s never a perfect thing in this world that could stay last forever.”

Concerns

Darkness

It was the thing that currently devours him.

An entity of black horizon floating his stiff body in nothingness, tossed it as void liquid winding. He felt only solitude, without any slight of supposedly peacefulness. It’s odd.

Paint of recollections was disappeared.

He tried to gains his frail memories, to no avail, body drowning in catatonic. Desperate hit a principle between illusionary.

“Seijuro…..”

Cryptic voice is calling his name.

“Those tears of yours shall be erased.”

Frozen blood tingling on his ears, he could feel his arms trying to create a single stretch.

“Emotions are never been allowed to exist.”

His eyes widen in fear, witnessing the familiarity. The same word that was full of mercilessly, his utopia freedom caged in reality.

“Consequences are going to be doing in infallible if you invaded it again. Next time there will be no mercy. You should have understood this.”

His father turned his head to his direction, these eyes are cold without feelings, tells only hollow and remorseless stares. It struck him when seconds ticked.

He could just shivers in helplessness as an abyss of vacuum immersing him into endless darkness.

Sounds of footsteps running echoed through unstained white walls in desolate hallway, creating non restlessness atmosphere between occupants. Great panic spread in mind of two persons, who was stepping hastily without a speck of cessation, passing every glass doors. That paces gradually come to an end when a destination room is seen from corners of two pairs of green and sky blue eyes which soon reached end of corridors.

Red rays radiating behind writing is still on. It doesn’t take too much for the smaller teen between both persons to figures it out. Which he ensured the other did same. He brings himself to left side of the alley and put his small body slowly by touching one of silver-colored seats which cling with wall. His seat position is undoubtedly well-mannered. Legs were straight into floor with clasped hands placed on his thigh. A casual position for person in waits.

It is usually covered his attitude effectively, relying on of a calm and collected scenery, if it wasn’t for one thing. His half face that full of dark shadow cast down and shows oppositeness. Eyes of the blue-haired boy didn’t glance towards the cold metal door which screaming only an invisible line between life and death. Concerns weighed down milieu in the room.

A trice of green-attire people out and enter the surgery room is caught as glimpse of lightning in his head. Stares are in unconfused and hesitation expressed that his mind isn’t in serenely. The person with him earlier was stood in contrast position, brisket adhere with that cold wall of hospital. His emerald eyes muse gazes into net floor, but there’s more than that. He was one of causes of his presence.

The second reason musses his nerves.

Option to meet one of his former teammates before Interhigh champions wasn’t one of his expectations. Let alone share in same place only both. He never expected anything when out of Maji Burger’s door, including wondering with mind sensing the familiarity of shooter’s green color. But the news struck on him more. He has strong satisfaction around Midorima’s own feelings.

They picked up a Hikari train destination from Tokyo to Kyoto around at 2 p.m before he witnessed landscape alongside them slip by. He took in the same current position as now, gaze disposed toward transparent window, and brooded in mixed emotions. While chaos drowned himself, Midorima apparently did the same. Those two didn’t share too much contact, but coherent enough to remind each other when they arrived.

The thing to do after that is a paid to Taxi. It didn’t significant, they just said to what they’re heading, Kanto Kyoto Hospital, and driver just seize the money. They searched receptionist, nodded politely to her after she gave them the information they needs. He called Kagami first beforehand, handled a tempered nagging from the red-haired male in wise tone, but leaved his points straightly.

His feelings are anything but equivocal.

As a matter of fact, it divided into two: Crestfallen and Fear.

Crestfallen still slipped beneath his hesitation, but fear of losing person who dear in his life sinks him to the bottom.

That news was incised shock and fear upon him, leaving him froze for a moment of what he heard from Midorima. He assuredly followed his footsteps in threshold of consciousness, only aware to ensure his former captain’s safeness to even forgetting his unprepared will.

Akashi has been brought to hospital, life-threatened, and is in critical condition, stood between barriers which screaming death.

It isn’t a lie when he honest that he still has disappointment spread between his minds when his former captain chose to let darkness parenthesize his light side. But Kuroko couldn’t bring himself to hate Akashi. No matter what the reason is, he couldn’t just abandon him. Their crucial relationship from it times had learned something unpleasant.

Out of all lines that crossed miracles, Akashi’s parallel distance was always simply farthest.

His keen observations skills helped him realized that his former captain always over-extent himself beyond limit, separated with most of them. Midorima was the same. They have different kind of methods though. Sometimes he could find Akashi in reverse road, enforce himself to expose orders. The word “no” isn’t foreign in his ears on most persuasive situations. Kuroko wondered if Akashi himself had limit.

Victory was the thing that obviously valid in Teiko. Kuroko couldn’t miss every letter that plastered in that white wall. He once neutral but now hates it. That declaration is red and destructive. Akashi’s tough mask was described by that phrase.

One thing that he ensured, these high expectations and merciless rules that appeared through them construed something pitiless.

The red-haired wasn’t all to blame. Their circumstances were in right place.

He feels sadness washing all over him, seeing what had been pressed through Akashi’s transparent cover.

Will Akashi survive? Can he pull it through? That fears is eaten him quickly.

Sound of metal door pushes open interrupted his fragment reveries that trapped him. He and Midorima immediately turned their concentration of thought and found that the red-light already turned off. The surgery was done. Kuroko could feel his nervousness raises up. Steps can be hear by them as Midorima Shinji walks passed the room, hands moved to remove a face mask, revealing his tired yet relieved expression.

It wasn’t a bad sign, isn’t it?

“Father, how is Akashi’s condition?” Midorima released his previously unanswered question, without ado and non-calm manners obviously come forward right on his face. Kuroko could tell Midorima preserve hard his apprehensiveness passed his veins.

The older Midorima doesn’t giving an appropriate responds, instead guide both of their gazes to the room behind him. A stretcher can be seen being pulled by some nurses, full of machines that attached to someone lying unconsciously upon it. Both of them didn’t bother to avert a look at him as incapacity and cringe forced them to permit the now-vulnerable teen being brought away to other place.

“Akashi Seijuro is now successfully out of his critical condition.”

Midorima Shinji’s words turned their attention at him in a second.

“His heart beat had stopped once during the surgery clinically less than two minutes, but we successfully defibrillating him and circulating oxygen into his heart and brain, enough to not created brain death. But the pills that he took were quite a lot. Although the dose levels aren’t too high and we managed to spell it out from his body, those pills still had some effects to his nerves, especially on volunteer neurons. A comatose state has occurred on him by intoxication. He’s in unconscious state right now. We can’t predict when he would wake up.”

Their expression set in a horror.

He’s only watching them in full of understanding, but kept an elegant mask on his face.

“I’m going to do some of further examination on his brain. I will soon tell you about his condition in more detailed once I have suitable time.” Pauses him, briefly has something important which going on in his mind but quickly brushed it off, didn’t want to tell those two teens.

“You can only allow to visits him around two or three hours later. Both of you can wait at outside of his private room which his father owned on upper floor. Nurses will be to one to tell you when the time is up. Right now, I have some many works to do. Excuse me first.”

Kuroko and Midorima could only see his body go away in restlessness expression that binding with grieve.

Midorima wasn’t sure of how he should react to what his father had told him at first. His mind was just dropped by at some anxiety which result his riot, on his belief that Kuroko only as disquietude as him once the young teen holding such facial expressions. One glance filed at the body lay in hospital bed, watched only a gentle rise and fall of the chest that indicates his life signs.

Green line cardiogram is quietly beeping on the black screen of meter life, rhythmically up and down along with the heartbeat. Various tubes and IV hooked to his wrist and chest, gives proper nutrition and medicine to his body. A transparent mask covered half of his face, practically giving a sight of dew breath condense on it while help him to take oxygen. His face looks so pale and sleeping peacefully under the oxygen mask, which Midorima didn’t have anticipated but conceived to have heart harmed.

Comatose and indeterminate possibility to gains consciousness make him worried sickly to bottom of his stomach. He never have been see him this pale in his life, looking this delicate as strand that was on verge of its fall. Not even when Midorima saw the red-haired teen how unbearable exhausted was written on his expression after the numerous endless of assignments.

However, Akashi is simply erratic.

There were so many years recognize pattern of him, but end up approved fallacious route. Their favorite synchronization in many topics: Shogi, Basketball, Grades, Piano, Arts, Literatures, most of things that people represent as high-classy.  Of course, as it well, Akashi still maintain as overwhelming victorious. It was always an easy conclusion. Midorima even doubted if he knew Akashi well enough as his closest person (Or that’s what he considered it if wasn’t Kuroko appertain).

He is now still in safe frontier, which Midorima think that it’s either luck of fate or Akashi’s beyond specialization. His father said that this only a momentary coma, and he will get full recovery after some muscles therapies. Midorima is quiet grateful about the revelation, but his concerns wasn’t just based on that.

It was the fact that Akashi deliberated swallowed those pills, be acquainted by ricks. So, what thing other than it was denote of suicide attempt?

Has Akashi finally reached his efflux?

The former captain has been feeling very oppressed, silently depressed because carefree time was cut from him. But there’s never once flashed in his mind that Akashi would plug it all out, unless something triggered. Or was it only Midorima’s own miscalculating? He’s not sure.

“Midorima-kun?”

He practically fixes his gaze at source of the calm voice’s owner and finds the phantom player sitting at the chair on corner, blue eyes are staring at him in maze.

“What do you want to say, Kuroko?”

The mystification quickly shut down, replaced by the same blank stares. “Nothing.” he hisses.

Blinked knows as in an instant that the blue-haired boy was giving a hideous questions but decided to get rid of it. Midorima are full of guarantee whether his confusion is the same.

“Just phrase what you want to know, Kuroko. I will answer it.”

“Had you inform others?”

Midorima sighs with confab informed that Kuroko wasn’t actually vocalizes his inquire “Yes.”

“Will they soon coming to here?”

“I already informed Momoi about this,” Midorima informed, trying to sound as calm as possible so he didn’t destabilize the situation,as he just remembered right after he call Momoi and tell her the news about Akashi, her voices suddenly really sounded so frantic. “According to her, Aomine will come tomorrow right after his school ended. Kise said that he will come to the hospital at this night, he already asked the permission to his agency and manager from what I heard. I already tried to contact Murasakibara too. He mostly probably the same as Kise, although judging from distance between Akita and Kyoto, I expect he would leave early.” ended him as the information went straight and quickly.

“I see.”Kuroko muttered.

He wanted to soon shut himself when his mind starts aware of lack notification to the phantom player about the pills which he actually forgot as the result of his panic. Disorientated made him can’t hold this vibrate too well.

 “Were there supposedly anything you asked other than it, Kuroko?”

This time, it is Kuroko turn to face him.

He closed his eyes for a moment in conflict of his inner before he let out the words.

“Why would Akashi-kun to do that kind of action, Midorima-kun?” he hisses. The once blank blue eyes filled with sorrow and rupture, completely antagonism his expressionless face.

The green haired shooter’s reply is nothing but temporary silence.

With that, his blue eyes are only takes a couple of seconds to realize his own action.  

“I’m sorry.” The blue haired murmured.

Midorima merely blinked. He knew he couldn’t bring himself to answer that question as it kept swirling into uncertainty and heavy injunction. It’s virtually a shame, that what he does is hide from what he perceives from eyes. The fact itself is oppressive and obscure, Midorima couldn’t see what the truth inside. Attention is called back when he can finally only gave three unhelpful words to the emit eyes, as of course as it is well, useless and undeserved to be out.

 “I don’t know, Kuroko.”

And all of that is so obvious, because nobody ever does too.

“You’re still staying in here, Tanaka-san?”

The middle-aged man in black formal suit immediately exchange his gaze after he heard the baritone voice ringing through transparent and metal objects that encompass them in same area. He glances back at the black horizontal sphere decorated by beautiful sparking dots scattered around the scenery that seen through invisible glass. His body took language with full of regard, abide, and polite posture after a while.

“Yes, sir, this is my duties to oversee young master until his safeness ensured.”

“I understand.” he formed a gentle smile, help to constructed his already wise and favorable trait. The 37-year-old doctor began to take position of sit beside the butler, white coat waves elegantly and slowly when bare cold floor touch it. His hands are fixing his glasses thoroughly.

“You’re really cares about Akashi-kun too.” It sounds more a lot of statement from Midorima Miyatani.

“Young master deserve some attentions in his life.”

He was not directly speaks again, instead research some sentences that he feels quite curious right now.

“How he could buy all of the capsules? It didn’t sell randomly, only certain pharmacies have it as those are quite dangerous and contained highly anti-biotic. Didn’t he usually be supervised properly?”

“I apologized profusely for accidentally dropped my guard on him. I shouldn’t give him that permission even if it was against his orders. My priority is to protect the young master and secure his health, not to let him slay and brought danger to his own life.” Tanaka said as the guilt came upon him of his careless act.

The middle-aged head butler should have known that it was a big mistake to complied his order and permit the young heir of Akashi family to disappear in such messy and unstable state as it lead them to testify horror sight of his body lay on cold floor of balcony, with spill of the bottle contents was scattered around him.

Siren of ambulance was cleave the stillness of night streets when Akashi Seijuro’s body get strapped tightly around stretcher, equipments and kits being placed beside him to support his body from being deteriorated by time. It was soon gone to the direction of Kanto Kyoto Hospital where Midorima’s family owned it as one of its big branch. The hospital is one of the largest and well-facilitated in Japan, it has many conglomerates clients for their private treatments, and one of them is Akashi’s. They keep a close partnership as the owner and biggest consumer for dozen years.

“It is okay, you didn’t need to apologize. That wasn’t your entirely fault.”

Midorima Miyatani in fact doesn’t have belief that anyone could prevent him from performed that action. He then finally decided to inquire the main question that is most valuable for him to Tanaka, when he views his face.

“So, have you informed to Masaomi yet?”

The next answer enough to make him feels relieved from any of disastrous allegations.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Blooms of the News

“What happened??” uttered Kise Ryōta tearfully as his first words pour for the first time after what seems to be hours and hours of repressed tendons of his face, forwarding his own body to the distance of the green and teal blue silhouette in contrast against the white hall of the barrier between life and death of humans behind. Travelling as long as 416.9 km and five hours away never drains the worrying and questioning looks on the blonde’s face, wanting nothing but to receive answers to the sudden news that comes out of nowhere like that of a typhoon. It’s similar after all, abrupt– of no warning nor known factors, things he can’t wrap his head around off.

Why would Akashicchi out of all people try to kill himself? By what causes? What happened?

“You're foolish to think you will  get your answer by asking me” is the only answer Midorima Shintarō could give to the golden-haired boy of miracles when the pained expression washes over. He’s assertive in his message, reminding the fact that the only key to the answer– if it’s possible at all– can only be given by the teen that is now laying comatose on the white bed, fragile hands sprawled like fabric blazing in the wind, easy to be cut.

Is the pain at the end of his efflux that painful? Why is it right before the Interhigh though? It’s all Midorima wants to ask of– repression, lack of freedom, overworked body reaching its final stage of energy left.

Midorima Shintarō has only guesses, the truth that they seek lies beyond his reach as much as he is reluctant to acknowledge the fact– his suspicion of whether it’s his own overestimation about Akashi’s durability or a certain trigger wouldn’t be washed away though. But then he remembers that Akashi is always overestimated from the start, by his own father, and then by the world.

At the end of the day, it’s fentanyl, a painkiller – a potent synthetic opioid drug used as a way to relieve the pain itself—  that almost took the life of Akashi. He wonders if Akashi is still in pain right now– from whatever it’s– even if his face denotes a serenity– a fake one. His assertive face is fully gone right now– only a fragile piece of skin left. It’s gone so that Midorima’s assertiveness is exceeding the former right now, even if Midorima Shintarō’s assertiveness is also well-known even if it’s not as prominent in the reputation as Akashi’s as well.

But Kise Ryōta is always resilient, traits evidenced from his non-stop training to reach the level of other miracles by any means, even fueled by his loss to Seirin just two months ago– something he can’t relate to and never wanted to be in his own dictionary. The blonde teen’s transformation in their years of Teiko was in fact not the most extreme, but even then there’s still a clear mark. Now it’s less visible.

It's by Kuroko’s doing? But now this subject doesn't really matter to him- at least for now.

“But there’s no way your dad  didn’t tell you anything Midorimacchi– you’re son and dad after all ” he insisted. But the green-haired shooter is firm, only growing slightly annoyed in the lack of law-awareness of the teen, 

“My father already tell me what needed–” he unconsciously slightly gritted his teeth, perhaps in an effort to deceive himself, “that this only a momentary coma, and he only need some muscle therapy afterward and perhaps some psychology therapy as well– ” white breath out of his mouth is visible, “anything beyond that will breach patient confidentiality, violating the hippocratic oath”

In the end of the scene, after he finishes gazing at the short bluenette that only mutely sitting on the seat, staring hollowly  at something distant, Kise’s attention diverted its focus on his former captain, laying in the hospital bed with various tubes and wires sticking out, his light green hospital attire didn’t hide anything, making his petite body dwarfed by the large bed and paling his complexion. The heart monitor beside provided a steady but weak beat, the only sound besides the oxygen mask and hum of other machines. The weak arm that stretched out at the corner of the bed ends up taken by the larger hand of the blonde, grasping at the pale wrist for the hands to feel the steady thump thump of the pulse, to assure the livingness of the person.

When Murasakibara comes for what seems to be an endless hour of journey, his gestures end in the same note as Kise, holding the much smaller hands in his big arm and then ruffling the red locks sprawled across the surface the white pillow, the hair distastefully somehow resembling river of blood. He ignores it and focuses completely on the tallest male in the room.

Here sits someone who, for the lack of word, ever successfully broke Akashi Seijūrō once– single-handedly responsible for the change of Akashi Seijūrō only by his existence and his apathy personality alone. It’s the only thing that causes the conflict in the green-haired teen’s heart regarding this former teammate of his, even when he’s more obedient as ever to the former captain since the change. Where was this obedience before? He bites the peak of his tongue. If he was this obedient, that Akashi wouldn’t even emerge.

And there lies the extreme opposition between Midorima Shintarō and Murasakibara Atsushi. The latter is utterly devoted to the current ‘Akashi’ while Midorima can only be obedient to the actual one– will do all of his power challenging that Akashi to bring the original Akashi back.

“Mido-chin and Kuro-chin– explanation please–” he whines nearing the end of the sunrise. And it wakes them of the fact that they spent their entire night not sleeping at all, too drowning in the deep of their thoughts. As it’s the start of the next day, Kise kindly offers himself to buy them some breakfast foods despite the obvious lack of hunger-ness in the faces of the miracles. After that, it’s when Kuroko Tetsuya finally receives one brief message on his phone.

To: Kuroko Tetsuya

From: Aomine-kun

We’re here.

The tanned ace and the pink-haired teen coming in like the combination of both the hurricane and mere passing wind, skipping their school just in order to get assured of the condition of the former captain. The tearful eyes of Momoi Satsuki is more than enough evidence, asking the detail of the event similar to the doing of Kise Ryōta in the earlier. The person is never uncaring by any standard, and by reality, she, along with Kuroko Tetsuya were the unwitting bystander staining in their own tears that are left in the sideline, forcing to undergo the watching of unpleasant transformation and the crack, perhaps breakup, for the exact term. She was one of the direct eyewitnesses of Akashi Seijūrō’s transformation, having tried to defend him from the bloom of Murasakibara’s monsterness but can do nothing– all futile, like that of Kuroko’s.

The latter teen meanwhile is perhaps the most distant with Akashi Seijūrō, the most apathetic when it comes to him even before his apathy grows uncontrollably and completely consumes him to become the monster that he’s now. Unlike Momoi, he has no tears in his face, and Midorima irrationally feels like wanting to scold the Ace for a second. However the distressed frown painted on his face doesn’t bring him from doing it, instead perhaps washing Midorima’s calculation on his apathy’s level and his level of caringness on his former captain.

“Oi what actually happened?” the bass voice growls, eyes snarling demanding for the answer, “You better explain it all Midorima, Tetsu”

It’s when both of them are about to give the answer when suddenly a shattering-sound of an alarm abruptly shatters the hall. From his room, a shrill monotonous sound of a long  flatline on the heart monitor continuously chattering.

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